


trying

by Inthesewords



Series: the long road [6]
Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Missing Scene, for the love of god just talk, i beg, post-ep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:20:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28331511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inthesewords/pseuds/Inthesewords
Summary: “So... what happened?”“With the Wolves? Sounds like you already know.”“After,” he says, voice lowering to a grumble.She looks up at him then, seeing him eying her earnestly. She sighs heavily. “Seems like you already know that too.”“Wanna hear it from you.”“Why? Cuz I hear so much from you?”Post-ep for 6.09 “No Way Out”
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Carol Peletier
Series: the long road [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1976890
Kudos: 19





	trying

Alexandria’s stand against the Wolves and the herd technically ended with a rocket launcher, but the survivors knew their work was not done. Bodies needed to be buried or burned, the walls repaired, the streets cleaned. That is, once everyone was able to do so. The line for the infirmary is wrapped around the porch.

Denise sits stitching Daryl’s shoulder as he tries not to wince.

“So,” she says, finally breaking the relative silence that he seemed to prefer, “what happened out there?”

Daryl grunts, eyeing her from under his fringe before he looks back towards the windowed door. “People are assholes.”

Denise snorts. “Tell me about it. Speaking of, I’m just about done with you. Can you send in Carol next?” She finishes stitching him with a flourish and Daryl hastily pulls his shirt back down.

“Why? What happened?”

“She just…” she pauses, realizing she may have revealed too much, but he looks at her expectantly. “Got knocked out. And she already had a concussion...so. Just need to keep an eye on her.”

Daryl nods to himself and moves to stand, feeling out his shoulder as he goes. “Wolves?”

He’s met with silence, so he looks up to catch her eye. Denise purses her lips and shakes her head.

Daryl squints at her, and chews the inside of his mouth when she doesn’t hasten to explain further, but rather conspicuously avoids his eyes as she tidies up.

He looks back towards the door and makes his way outside. He passes a few of the others, including Rosita, Eugene and Tara who are speaking in hushed tones. Carol is standing towards the end of the porch alone, arms hugging her front.

“Hey.” Daryl looks her up and down, trying to gauge her level of injury himself. “Denise says you’re up.”

She looks at him and nods once, not sparing him a further glance before slipping past him to head inside.

When she comes back out to the porch, there are only a few people still waiting to be seen, but Daryl’s still there, pacing the floorboards.

“What’re you still doing here?” She asks, approaching him curiously. “Aren’t you exhausted? Heard a bit about it from Sasha.”

He halts his pacing, but his foot taps and his hand twitches. “Ain’t ya concussed? Wanted to make sure ya didn’t get lost on your way home.”

She drops her head. “I’m fine.”

“Pfft. Let’s go.”

He gestures for her to lead the way but she raises an eyebrow at him, so he rolls his eyes and goes first, before they both move gingerly down the stairs.

They make their way towards their house slowly, as a matter of necessity- not only are the events of the last two days catching up to each of them, but there are still walkers’ bodies everywhere.

The air between them feels heavy, the weight of what they both experienced in the past two days lying unspoken between them. Out of the corner of her eye, she notices his agitation, a scowl covering his features.

She tries to break the ice.

“So, a rocket launcher, huh? My hero.”

He shrugs, before wincing at the movement. “Ain’t nothin.”

“Well, it was kinda ‘somethin.’ Not sure we would have made it without that Hail Mary.”

He shrugs again, but then sneaks a look at her out of the corner of his eye. “Well, it was actually my second time using that launcher yesterday, but who’s counting.”

She chuckles at his brag, deciding that pride suits him. “Alright, I get it. Most valuable player of the apocalypse. Your award is in the mail.”

He snorts, and she returns to contemplative silence, taking in the wreckage around them. He keeps chancing glances at her before he starts again.

“Heard ya went full Terminus on them Wolves. Eugene called you The Terminator. Do I havta call ya that now?”

She huffs. “Only if you want me to terminate you.” She looks down at herself, covered in walker guts. “At the very least, I think my cover’s blown.”

“Good. I hated those sweaters. Can toss em into the pond with the fire and the walkers, where they belong.” He tries to catch her eye but she continues to look at the ground as they walk. “So... what happened?”

“With the Wolves? Sounds like you already know.”

“After,” he says, voice lowering to a grumble.

She looks up at him then, seeing him eying her earnestly. She sighs heavily. “Seems like you already know that too.”

“Wanna hear it from you.”

“Why? Cuz I hear so much from you?”

She keeps her slow amble forward, but he falters in his steps. He knows then that the distance between them since they arrived at Alexandria wasn’t all in his head. But maybe it wasn’t all on her, either. He takes a deep breath, then propels himself forward until he’s back in step with her. Looks at her behind the hair plastered to his forehead, but she continues to keep her gaze determinedly ahead. He tries to explain anyway.

“Out there…tried to head back when I heard the horn. Ran across some folks. Thought I was after ‘em so they attacked me, grabbed my stuff. Was able to escape but came back when I saw I took their meds. One of ‘em got bit. Was gonna bring the two left with me, but they held me up and took off again.”

He notices then that she’s moved closer to him until their shoulders are nearly touching.

“You see the best in people,” she says. “You did what you could.”

“So did you.”

She stops at that, turning around slowly to face him.

“Who told you?” She crosses her arms and looks off to the side. “I told them not to—“

“Got it outta Rosita. She said you swore them to secrecy, but she wanted someone else keeping an eye on Morgan,‘specially around you.”

His voice is rough, and she turns her gaze to meet his.

“Daryl, it’s fine.”

“Really? Prove it.” He nods at her. “Turn around.”

She glares daggers at him, but he holds her eyes, and eventually she sighs and turns around slowly, acquiescing.

She doesn’t even have to lift her shirt. In the bright light of day, the black and blues quickly forming across her back are noticeable through the thin white linen of her shirt.

”I’ll kill him,” he says, voice low and dangerous. The hairs on her neck raise at the sound, and she keeps her back to him.

“I said the same thing but… what if he’s right?”

Her voice is quiet and unsure, and it’s just as disconcerting to him as his was to her.

“Right? Like hell he is.”

She turns her head to the side, not looking at him all the way behind her, but enough to acknowledge him. He moves forward to join her at her side, and they continue their walk towards home.

They are silent the last few steps of the way, their house looming before them, when she speaks again.

“I don’t know. Thought it might get easier but it just gets harder.”

She keeps walking purposefully into the house, and he mulls her words over as he enters and closes the door behind them. The house is eerily silent, all of its typical occupants by Carl’s bedside. It feels empty.

He senses Carol moving away from him and their conversation, and instinctually steps towards her. “Hey,” he says, putting his hand gently on her shoulder. “At least we’re still tryin’, right?”

Her lips tug up into a faint smile as she meets his gaze. Then, she sniffs and looks back down at herself, covered in dirt, blood and walker guts.

“Mind if I take first shower?”

Daryl chews the inside of his mouth and eases his arm back down to his side. “Nah. ‘Sides, I’m starving.”

Carol smirks. “There’s leftover casserole in the fridge.”

With that, she gives him one last grin before she turns and goes up the stairs.

Daryl sighs and moves into the kitchen, cobbling together and then scarfing down a long awaited meal. It’s too soon before he’s interrupted by a knock on the door.

He thinks about ignoring it, too tired to do much more than chew, but the knocker is persistent. Daryl grunts and heaves himself out of the chair, stalking towards the instrusion and whipping the door open.

Morgan stands on the other side, hand paused mid knock. Daryl wonders if it’s possible for your blood to boil and run cold at the same time.

Regardless, Morgan clearly senses he’s not welcome.

“I’m sorry I… is Carol here?”

Daryl stares at him hard, and walks towards him on the porch, shutting the door behind him and prompting Morgan to step back.

“Fuck you thinkin’, comin’ here asking for her?”

Morgan sighs. “I just wanted to check on her. I...I need to know that she’s okay.”

Daryl scoffs and looks Morgan up and down. “She’ll be fine, no thanks to you. Ya could’ve killed her.”

Morgan bows his head. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll go now.”

He turns to leave and makes it down the steps before Daryl whistles. When Morgan turns around, Daryl’s arms are crossed as he stares daggers at him.

“I know you’re Rick’s friend,” he says lowly. “But raise a hand to her again, and I don’t care who’s friend ya are, I’ll kill ya myself and feel great doin’ it.”

Morgan swallows and nods, then turns and quickly makes his way down the street.

Daryl spits and, with one last glare thrown at Morgan’s retreating figure, turns and renters the house, slamming the door shut behind him. He takes a few breaths to steady himself at the entrance, then looks up to find Carol staring at him from the top of the stairs, freshly showered and wrapped in a towel.

He can tell by her eyes that she heard everything.

She hesitantly points her hand back towards the hallway. “Just wanted to tell you that the bathroom’s free.”

He nods and shoves his hands in his pockets. She stays there a beat longer, before giving him the first genuine smile he’s seen in… he can’t remember.

He slowly smiles back.


End file.
